Canadian writer, filmmaker (b. 1993)
M. H. Murray
Born Mathew Hubert Murray
(1993-06-04 ) June 4, 1993 (age 30) Education
York University Occupation(s) Writer, filmmaker Years active 2013–present Notable work
Teenagers Website
mathewmurray .ca
Mathew Hubert Murray
[a] (born June 4, 1993), credited professionally as M. H. Murray , is a Canadian writer and filmmaker. He first attracted attention for his work on
Teenagers (2014–2017), which won
several accolades .
[1]
[2]
Early life
Murray was raised in the
Port Credit area of
Mississauga ,
[3] by a
French Canadian mother and a
Scottish Canadian father.
[4] In high school, he started a
YouTube channel and began creating "little
slasher films " with his family and friends.
[4]
[5] He graduated from
York University 's
film school .
[6]
Career
While in film school, Murray began working on his first
web series , titled
Teenagers .
[6]
[7] The series ran for three seasons, from 2014 to 2017, initially attracting media attention because its cast included former
Degrassi stars such as
Chloe Rose and
Raymond Ablack .
[8] Murray co-created the series with close friend Sara Tamosauskas and produced the first season alongside
Emmanuel Kabongo , who also starred in all three seasons of the series.
[9]
T. J. Scott served as an executive producer for the second and third seasons of the series.
[3] The second season's premiere episode went
viral ,
[10] amassing millions of views on YouTube.
[11] Since its release, Teenagers has received positive reviews from critics and
several accolades , including a
Canadian Screen Award nomination and an
Indie Series Award .
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
Following the conclusion of Teenagers , Murray wrote and directed a short film titled Ghost .
[4] The film stars
Mark Clennon as Benjamin, a gay musician who is "
ghosted " by his lover.
[15]
[16] After premiering virtually at the
Inside Out Film Festival ,
[17] the film screened at festivals in
Paris and
Connecticut .
[16]
[18] Ghost had its U.S. premiere at the
47th annual Seattle International Film Festival in April 2021,
[19] and was released online in June 2021.
[18]
[20]
In 2022, Murray co-directed the
music video for Clennon's song "Kingston", which was filmed in
Kingston, Jamaica , which garnered media attention for being the
first music video shot in Jamaica to feature an on-screen romance between two men .
[21]
Murray's feature film debut,
I Don't Know Who You Are , also starring Clennon, premiered in the Discovery program at the
2023 Toronto International Film Festival .
[22]
Influences
Murray at a screening of
Teenagers in 2017 Murray's work on Teenagers has drawn comparisons to the
Degrassi franchise.
[23] In a December 2016 interview with
CBC 's
q radio show , Murray refuted Degrassi comparisons, saying that while he "respects" the show, he believes that Teenagers is "a fresh take on that experience".
[1] Murray has stated that he was influenced by
Issa Rae 's
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl ,
John Hughes 's
The Breakfast Club , and
Larry Clark 's
Kids .
[24]
Murray has cited American actor and filmmaker
John Cassavetes as an influence, and "people who use their own resources and money to get their projects going when studios or other people ignore them."
[5]
Personal life
Murray is
gay .
[25]
Accolades
At the
Vancouver Web Series Festival , Murray won Best Screenplay in 2016 and Best Canadian Series in 2018 for his work on the second and third seasons of Teenagers .
[26]
[2] In 2017, he was nominated for Best Director at the
5th annual International Academy of Web Television Awards for directing the third season of Teenagers .
[27]
References
^
a
b
"M. H. Murray doesn't gloss over the gritty details of being a teenager in his web series | CBC Radio" . CBC . December 20, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2018 .
^
a
b Clay, Chris (May 11, 2018).
"Mississauga-based web series 'Teenagers' earns pair of awards, racks up views" . Mississauga News . Retrieved June 25, 2018 .
^
a
b Clay, Chris (April 29, 2016).
"Mississauga director's web series a raw take on teenage life" . Mississauga News . Retrieved June 1, 2016 .
^
a
b
c
"Filmmaker M.H. Murray Tackles Modern-Dating Anxieties in 'Ghost' " . Occhi Magazine . May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021 .
^
a
b
"M.H. Murray Talks GHOST, What Audiences Can Glean From It and More" . Geek Girl Authority . May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021 .
^
a
b Mitchell, Ashlee (January 30, 2014).
"A teenage dream" . Excalibur . Retrieved July 14, 2016 .
^ Greene, Steve (December 13, 2016).
"Indiewire's Project of the Day: 'teenagers' | IndieWire" . IndieWire . Retrieved January 16, 2017 .
^ Chunovic, Louis (January 15, 2014).
"New web series Teenagers attracts Degrassi alum" . Playback . Retrieved January 23, 2017 .
^
"teenagers' Enters its Final Season All Grown Up | Stareable Blog" . www.stareable.com . Retrieved August 2, 2023 .
^
teenagers (web series) - S2, E1 - "The Difference Between Sex and Fucking" , retrieved February 9, 2022
^
a
b Durnford, Samie (August 17, 2016).
"Binge-worthy Toronto web series" . NOW Magazine . Retrieved August 21, 2016 .
^
"AS IF BEING A TEENAGER WAS EVER EASY : Teenagers Webseries | Starved Magazine" . www.culturestarved.com . Archived from
the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2015 .
^ Knegt, Peter (January 20, 2016).
"7 reasons you should care about the Canadian Screen Awards this year" . CBC Arts . Retrieved April 7, 2016 .
^
"Where You've Seen The Ginny And Georgia Cast Before" . CINEMABLEND . March 5, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021 .
^
" 'Ghost' " . CTVNews . May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021 .
^
a
b
"Short film 'Ghost' is a character study of a gay man getting ghosted" . etalk . June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021 .
^ Wilner, Norman (July 2, 2020).
"Inside Out 2020 is happening (online) in October" . NOW Magazine . Retrieved August 4, 2020 .
^
a
b
"Toronto filmmaker explores 'ghosting' and modern dating in new short film" .
CBC News . Retrieved June 5, 2021 .
^ Tatum, Erin (May 5, 2021).
"Filmmaker M.H. Murray Examines The Anxiety of Modern Dating in New Short Film, "Ghost" " .
Cliché Magazine . Retrieved May 6, 2021 .
^
GHOST (Gay Short Film) directed by M. H. Murray ,
YouTube , retrieved September 25, 2021
^
"Mark Clennon Shares New "Kingston" Video, the First Shot in Jamaica to Feature an Onscreen Romance Between Two Men | Exclaim!" . exclaim.ca . Retrieved June 22, 2022 .
^ Hazelton, John.
"TIFF Discovery and Midnight Madness line-ups revealed" . Screen . Retrieved September 26, 2023 .
^
"Sex, drugs & violence: Toronto's provocative Web Series "Teenagers" returns for Season Two" . www.shedoesthecity.com . August 10, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015 .
^
"Exclusive Interview with Teenagers Creator Mathew Murray" . TalkNerdyWithUs . April 2, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016 .
^ Slater, Shane (September 15, 2023).
"TIFF Interview: Talking 'I Don't Know Who You Are' with M. H. Murray and Mark Clennon" . Awards Radar . Retrieved November 8, 2023 .
^ Cummins, Julianna (March 23, 2016).
"Riftworld, Sudden Master win at Vancouver Web Fest" . Playback . Retrieved April 7, 2016 .
^
"5th IAWTV Awards 2017 – IAWTV Awards" . Retrieved November 9, 2021 .
Notes
^ Murray's full name is listed on his website
External links